Monday 17 February 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING 2014
#AntisocialNetworking #Trolling #CyberBullying #Hate

Good late evening, Synapse Circuit Readers! How are you? I hope that you had a wonderful relaxing weekend! I sure did – even though I found some time to write a couple of articles last night! Well, I love to write as you probably have figured out! Lol!

A few days ago an online article, ‘Internet Trolls Really Are Horrible People Narcissistic, Machiavellian, psychopathic, and sadistic.’ It reminded me of the articles I wrote on ‘Antisocial Networking’ a while back. I am not sure if I agree with all of the articles contents...

“INTERNET TROLLS REALLY ARE HORRIBLE PEOPLE NARCISSISTIC, MACHIAVELLIAN, PSYCHOPATHIC, AND SADISTIC.” REALLY?
The trouble with the above notion is that the Internet – under the right circumstances can bring out the negative in some of us. It’s just like observing a kind, caring mother turn into a raging psychopathic killer when her child or children has been bullied, etc.

From my experiences I am inclined to think that some people really do believe in what they are doing by ostracizing someone online in, let’s say a forum. Again, it should come as no surprise that it is often the people that claim to be of a high moral standing i.e. a member of a particular religion, etc are often the most extreme because their sense of morality justifies it. Usually, such “moral leaders” have a following and that following are people who want to belong and will 90% of the time go along with what the “moral leader or leaders” have put forward against another.

Followers that question the “moral leader or leaders” are also ostracized.

I have been a member of a few forums and my stance has always been anti-clique! I can’t stand forum members that take the viewpoint that they own the forum space because they have been there the longest. And it’s the same with a lot of forum “moderators” who are supposedly there to keep the forum(s) pleasant and enjoyable for all but they just pander to their friends who they have formed bonds with from day one! This is what destroys any potentially good forum. The forum police become corrupt as does its mayor (the most respected forum member) and followers thus making any member that comes afterwards the outsider or outsiders. Sometimes it is hard to break through a clique of closed minded people.

At one point in a particular forum belonging to a rather well known software house I was being trolled by a rather disturbed person who was accusing me of being a troll just for having a wide presence on the Internet. If you have a website and social networking accounts then you will leave a considerable trail behind. However, this disturbed person did not seem to understand that he was in fact trolling me and questioning me about my various innocuous online activities to do with having a website and social networking accounts. This guy was really bonkers but he couldn’t see it because as far as he was concerned I was the “enemy”. Naturally, this guy wasn’t alone! Uh-uh! He had a rather accomplice in a “moderator” who is of Christian faith and quick to make accusations of “spam” for no particular reason other than for spite.

SELF-HATE
I’ve come to realize that people who are participating in trolling, cyber-bullying, etc are people who have a self-loathing and the Internet is used as some strange therapy. These people feel the need to be nasty towards others; it’s like they can’t help themselves. I reckon this is why some of these people do this anonymously. Offline they are the kind of people you wouldn’t notice and online they are the vilest people you could ever come across. Because of their insecurities they feel as though they need to make others feel worse!

Look at the young girls who were driven to suicide... I can’t think of one of those belated young girls that looked – for want of a better expression – ugly! All the young girls / women looked very beautiful and if school was like anything that I experienced when I was a pupil then it was the girl who looked like a model was the one who got picked on. Sometimes vanity can kill! I mean, if you think you’re beautiful and get told that you’re not it could make you want to take your life. But if you know that you are a beautiful person inside and out then it is harder to succumb to such bullying – that’s my theory!

In fact the one forum moderator described herself as a “yodel uneducated hick...” and that supports my theory that many people that have a self-loathing can be the nastiest people online. She’s probably still the same way. I was trying to have a discussion with her about the arts. I had an online magazine about music and she objected to an artist’s view on God. She confused that artist’s opinion of God with whom I am as a person. When I tried to reason with her about artist expression she came out with that description of herself, “yodel uneducated hick...” But that’s nothing to do with me but her uninformed outbursts within the forum and a negative effect on me. There you go!

As a web designer I have advised clients to NOT have a forum on their site if they cannot police it properly. A forum can bring the wrong kind of attention to what you are doing! In fact the well known software company has taken a more “community” approach to their forums. I have yet to join it. I might join it to see what happens! Lol!

LATELY
Sadly, there have been suicides. It seems like there isn’t enough education available to those who are affected as both bully and victim. Some “celebrities” have tried to capitalize on the subject of bullying to improve their status but it appears that not much has been achieved if school children are still taking their lives after suffering horrendous bullying both on and offline. I think I’ve yet to see a program that focuses on the bullies; ‘From the mouths of bullies. Why do they do what they do?’ That would be one interesting program.

Again, education or lack of it seems to be a major problem. For example, take this “NekNomination” craze, that I believe comes from the UK, it has claimed 3 lives (if I am correct) and the deaths came about through alcohol poisoning where the nominees must accept the challenge of drinking very dangerous amounts of alcohol. One deceased person is said to have consumed 2 pints of gin! Can you believe it????

Shouldn’t it be common knowledge that if you drink spirits in large quantities that it can cause alcohol poisoning that could kill? There again, how many teenagers have heard of the dangers of mixing wine, beer and spirits? As a teenager I found myself celebrating someone’s birthday in the cosy setting of the home; nothing outlandish like a nightclub, pub or anything like that. I was at someone’s home who was celebrating his birthday. Innocently, I consumed a potentially deadly stream of different alcohols: wine, beer and spirit. The quantities were not what I would consider as dangerous but the accumulation of these different forms of alcohol almost killed me! Now just imagine if I were in a different setting where there was a competitive atmosphere; I think I would not be here now. Since then I have read many ‘o’ times of accidental deaths occurring at stag nights. Come to think of it, I can’t remember any females dying of alcohol poisoning at a hen night.

TRENDS
The way I see it, there will always be people who have a low opinion of themselves and / or may not be well educated. This is the fuel for the on and offline hate campaigns that can drive others to suicide and getting into mischief that can possibly result in death by misadventure.

FURTHER READING
LINKS TO ARTICLES

Woman becomes first person to be jailed for ‘trolling herself’
http://metro.co.uk/2014/02/05/woman-becomes-first-person-to-be-jailed-for-trolling-herself-4292090/

Internet Trolls Really Are Horrible People Narcissistic, Machiavellian, psychopathic, and sadistic. By Chris Mooney
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/climate_desk/2014/02/internet_troll_personality_study_machiavellianism_narcissism_psychopathy.html


Fifth Neknominate death after man downed two pints of GIN to 'show who's the boss'.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fifth-neknominate-death-after-man-3150586


ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING




ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING? PART ONE
http://synapse-circuit.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/antisocial-networking-part-one.html

ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING? PART TWO FORUM FASCISM
http://synapse-circuit.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/antisocial-networking-part-two-forum.html


ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING? PART THREE FORUM FASCISM
http://synapse-circuit.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/antisocialnetworking-part-three-forum.html


What do you reckon?

Take good care!


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